A Multimillion Dollar Deal, a Product Recall and a New Chapter: Gwen Whiting on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Acquisitions

Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Money News Network

Education, Self-improvement, Business

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Founders often talk about an acquisition as the ultimate business goal. But Gwen Whiting knows M&A isn't always the fairytale it's made out to be. Gwen cofounded The Laundress, grew it into a cleaning empire, and sold the company to Unilever for a reported $100 million. But then... the product recall happened. Gwen tells Nicole about the scrappy days of launching and scaling The Laundress without investor capital, and the cautionary tales from the Unilever deal. Gwen talks about how she's approaching her new venture The Fill differently— and why she's not building it to sell. Then, Gwen opens up about her experience as one of the survivors of sexual assault by Dr. Robert Hadden, and what talking with other survivors taught her the power of collective action. Learn more about The Fill Unilever's response to the product recall Gwen's piece about learning her OBGYN was a predator

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode includes descriptions of sexual assault.
0:02.9	Please take care while listening.
0:04.4	For a lot of founders, selling your company is the ultimate dream.
0:08.0	But for Gwen Whiting, that dream was actually a bit of a nightmare.
0:11.7	Gwen's the entrepreneur behind the laundress,
0:14.1	the cult favorite brand that turned laundry into a luxury business
0:17.8	without a single dollar of outside funding.
0:22.5	Gwen sold the laundress to Unilever for a reported $100 million. But after she left, the recalls started. We talk about how she built it,
0:30.6	what really happened during the Unilever acquisition, and the fallout that followed. In the show notes,
0:35.9	I'll also link the articles that Unilever
0:37.7	responded to so you can see their side of the story. Gwen also shares what she wishes she knew
0:42.4	before she signed on the dotted line and why she's back now in the game with her new venture,
0:47.2	The Phil. We also talk about how Gwen manages professional challenges while dealing with
0:51.9	personal ones. At the end of our conversation, Gwen shares
0:54.8	her experience as one of the 567 known survivors of a now disgraced Columbia OBGYN. It is a brave
1:02.4	and important conversation about personal trauma, public accountability, and reclaiming your voice.
1:08.7	The interview right after this. What is your bank doing for you?
1:11.8	And how much is it costing you?
1:13.5	That's a serious question, because if they're charging you $8 a month with zero extra services,
1:18.9	I've got to stage an intervention here.
1:20.8	What are you paying them for anyway to hold your money for you?
1:24.2	You deserve better.
	...

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